Sheet feeding and marking method and machine



Dec. 21 1926.

' C. B. MA'XSON SHEET FEEDINGJAND HARKING METHOD AND MACHINE 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 25, 1923 vm r.-

Q@ o b\\ .f/ l QH@ l Dec. 21 1926. y 1,611,479

, C.' B. MAXSON SHEET FEEDING AND MARKING METHODAND MACHINE l FiledSept. 25, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 2 1 192e. 1,611,479

C. B. MAXSON SHEET rFEEDING AND MARKING METHOD AND MAQHINE Filed Sept.425, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 #im/zey yParenteel Dee. 21,' 1926;

UNITED STAT-Es 1,611,479 PATENroFFlcE.

cHAEL'EsD. .MAxsoN, oE-wEsTERLY, EHoDE IsLAND, AssIGNoE or' ONE-HALE ToJULIAN W. MAxsoN, or WESTERLY, RHODE ISLAND.

- SHEET EEEDING AND MARKING METHOD AND MACHINE.

Appueatien med september as, 1923. serial No. 664,775.

The present `invention relates to methods of and machines for'feedinganddelivering such articles as sheets of. paper, and its chief object isto provide an f improved method.'

l and machine formarking or separating the vsheets so delivered intobundlesor reams, each containing a predetermined number of the sheets. Other objects will appear hereinafter, andwill be pointedcut in theclaims.

The invention will be fully explained in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in -which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view, partlyin side elevation and partly in longi- 'tudinalsection, of apaper-sheet-cutting t machine ofl welllmown constructiom-with thepresent invention attached thereto; Fig. -2 is a rear view of a stackfofsheetsI as delivered into the lay-boy shown in Fig. 1, -I

marked in accordance with' the present in- 20A vention'; 3 is asideelevation of a portion of the operating mechanism of the tagfeedingdevices, the view being enlarged with respect to Figs. 1 and 2, and theparts being shown in the relative positions occupiedby them when thetag-feeding devices are ineective Fig. 4 is asimilar view, with theparts in relative 4positions such as to renderv the tag-feedingdeviceseiective tol feed the tag; Figs- 3at and 4 are similar of a portion ofthe said operatingmechanism, the section being taken generally upon theline 5-5 of Fig. 3. looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 6 is aplan of .a' preferred, intermittently operating tag-feeding` device andassociated parts,- shown enforillustrative purposes, shown applied toYVa paper-sheet-cutting-and-feeding machine employed in paper mills tosever the rlls 2 of paper, Fig. 1, that are produced in\ thepaper-making machines, into individual sheets, and to feed and `stackthe severed' sheets into layfboys 4. Any desired, conviews,v showingfurther steps in theA opera.l tion; Fig. 5 isa section, upon thesame-scale,.

6j Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view of a pre` of well known' type, such asis commonly' venientfnumber ofl rolls 2 of paper may be operated uponsimultaneously in the same machine. Three such rolls are illustrateddiagrammatically inFig. 1. The webs 3 of paper from the rolls 2 are ledtogether to 00 feed rolls 6, by which the paper is advancedJ to diskcutters 8, which sever the'pa-per into longitudinal strips of thedesired width, The severed strips are then advanced by feed rolls 10 and12 to rotary cutters' 14 65 and 16 by which the strips are severed intosheetspf the desiredflengtl.l Tapes 18 and then .feed the sheetsinto'the lay-boys 4L,x which are automatically lowered from time to timeto, maintain'approximately uniform 70 the level of thel sheets 'that are,stacked d a-predetermined number ofs the sheets. It

is customary to separate them into reams of 48() or 500 sheets Accordingto present' practice, this separation vis effected during thesheet-stacking process in the lay-boys by Vgirls or other operatives whostand in front of the lay-boys, at 22,. Fig. 1, and mentally count thesheets, one by one, as they are delivered. The girls place a papertagbetween two adjacent sheets7 at the completion of each count. e'These tags are inserted from 85 the front of the stack, at 22'. Thecompleted stack visthus supposed toabe separated by these tags intoreams or. bundles of any desired ,number ofsheets. The accuracy of 4 thecount, however, depends uponl an in 90 herently inaccurate orundependable mental in theory), or unsuited to the -needs of theparticular machina-they, have not proved .to be satisfactory, so thatthe girls are still 10 universally employed, and it isstill impos-'sible to tell, in advance, howmany sheets a mentally-counted reamreally contains.

-Accordingto thepresent invention, the sheets are counted automatically,as they are `delivered into the lay-boy- 11, by an accurate nachine thatis not dependent upon a failing, human, counting.` memory; and thin,.paper tags 24, 1 and 2, are autmatically inserted between adjacent,predetern -K mined sheets at the completion of each count; so that thevreams or bundles thus counted and marked contain-just the desirednumber of sheets, and neither more nor less.

Not only are accuracy and efficiency vthus attained, but the cost isconsiderably re. duced, since the girls areno longer needed, and may beemployed to betterv 'advantage elsewhere.

. end of which is spring .pressed at 42 to4 The end 38 of thel paperstrip, is thus intermittently advanced, at the proper time, and becomesinserted between adjacent sheets 104 and 106, Fig. 1, of -the stack and,after it is severed by the knives 30 and 32, constitutes a tag 24. Thefeed roll 26 is mounted upon an end of a bell-crank lever 40,intermediately pivoted at .41, andthe other cause the feed roll 26 tomaintain the paper vided with meshing gears, as shown. To

. gearing 128.

4advance the strip 34, therefore, it is necessary to rotateintermittently the feed roll 26 only. the feed roll 27 being' positivelydriven by its gear from the feed roll 26,l

and the two rolls positively pulling the strip 34 through between them.

The feed rolls 26 and 27 are situated at the rear end of the guide 28,at a point just to the rear of and 'just below the upper sheets of thestack of sheets in the lay-boy, and the knife4`32 is situated at theother end. A shaftu44, situated to the rear of the guide 28, is providedwith a gear 126, keyed theretov at 220, which drives the feed rolls 26and 27 throughia train of The train of gearing 128 makes it possible toposition the feed rolls 26 and 27 properly, at a distancefrom theirdriving shaft 44. By feeding the strip at a point so close to the stack,there is no tendency for the strip to buckle or sag.'

in the guide 28. This obviates "danger of the strip getting stuck in theguide. which would prevent the strip from being ad- .Vanced at all.Alever 31, pivoted at 33,l by its own weight presses the strip 34against a seat 35 ,in the bell-crank lever, just to the rear of thelfeed rolls 26 and 27, the-better to guide the strip. y The shaft 44is'intermit-tently rotated by a continuously rotating pawl- 46, Figs. 3,4` 3a, 4a and 5, when the latter engages the Vwalls of a recess 48provided upon a 4normally stationary collar member 50 that is fixed to'the shaft 44. The recess 48 is thus, in effect,

that is keyed at to a gear .wheel 56. The

' 'ear' wheel 56, with the collar l54 that is.

eyed thereto, is loosely mounted upon the vshaft 44A Thengear wheel 56is driven by a gear' wheel 58, Fig. 8, from a gear wheel that is mountedupon a 'shaft 62,. Gear wheels 59 are'v interposed, as a' convenientAmedium pf properly determining the directo'in and speed of rotation ofthe gear wheel 56.. The shaft 62 may be driven from the shaft of the.rotary cutter 16 in any well known manner, as, for instance, in tbemanner illustrated in a copending application, Serial No. 563,274 tiledMay 24, 1922, of which the present application is a continuation inpart. The rotation of the shaft 62 is therefore a measure of the numberof sheets that are cut by the knife 16 and delivered intothe lay-boy.Thecollar 54, that carries the awl 46, is thus continuously rotatedloosely 1n a circular path about the shaft 44, from the shaft of thecutter 16, or in any desired manner, so long asthe pawl 46 does notengage the walls of the recess 48. lVhen the pawl 46 does engage thewalls of the recess 48, however, it will actuate the recess-carryingcollar 50; and the shaft 44, to which the recess-carrying collar 50 issecured, will obviously rotate also, causing the feed rolls 26 and 27 tofeed Ithe end 38A of the strip 34 between two adjacent sheets 104Mand166 ofthe stack, as is illustrated in l. The feeding of the strip 34 istherefore controlled'by the continuously rotating pawl 46. Rotation ofthe shaft 44 in the wrong direction is prievented by one or more pawls69 operating, with graduated effect, upon one or more ratchet wheels 71y(one only is illustrated in Fin. 1o). I

she pawl 46 is normally prevented from entering the. recess'48 by a gate70, Figs. 3, 4, 3, 4a and 5, that is provided upon a collar 72 that isloosely mounted upon the reduced end 74y of the shaft 44. In theposition normallyl occupied byithe collar 72 upon the shaft-44, the gateoverlies or covers the forward Wall 49 ofthe recess 48, asv-.shown inFig. 3, inthe path of the pawl 46.- So long as the gate 70 overlies thisforward wall 49 of the recess 48,'the continuously 'rotating pawl 46 cannot engage this wall 49, but rides idly over the gate.

Upon the gate. becoming displaced from 'the position of Fig. 3 -tothatof Fig. 4, the pawl 46, during its next journey around the shaftv44, will be pressed into the recess 48 by a spring 76. lThe pawl 46,continu'ng its rotation, will now carry the recess-containing collar 50with it, and the latter, be-ng secured to the shaft 44, will cause'thefeed rolls 26 and 27 to advance' the end 38 of the strip 34, as abovedescribed. y Upon lreaching the wall 7 8,Fig. 4, of the gate 70. thepawl 46 `will ridel out of the recess 48, as shown in Fig.` 3, whereuponthe shaft 44 shown in full lines,in Fig. 4, whereas it now the gatel()is vactuated from the will cease rotating', and the strip will be nolonger advanced. `The forward wall 49v ofthe recess 48 will thus be'left behind the gate 70, in the dotted-line position of Fig.

3a. The pawl 46 will'jthen again continue, ously rotate'idly, asbefore.' l It should ;be" noted thatwhen the pawl-46 leaves the for.-4ward wall 49 of vthe recess 48 behind-the gate 70, as justdescribe-d,the-.shaft 44"lias not quite completed a revolution', 4for tef recess 48 occupied originally fthe Ipt JsI-tionl :recess 48, andvthus permit the pawl 46 to actuate the feed rolls 26 and 27 by engag,ing the forward wall 49 of vthe recess 48. The gate 70 is provided witha pin 80 that projects into an elongated opening 82, Fig.

8, provided at one end of a lever 84. The

lever 84 is intermediately pivoted at 86, and its other end 88 ridesalong a cam track 90 of a cam disk 89 that is rigidly-secured to acounting disk (not illustrated) so as to rotate therewith. The cam disk89 is shown mounted upon `a shaft 189.- As is explained.

in the abovenamed application, eachrevolution of the shaft ofthe 'cutter16 may e'ect an angular movement of theeam`disk 89 corresponding` to anyconvenientA desired 'number of sheets.; but further description ll l) ofthis feature will be omitted as not necessary-to an understandingr ofthe present in-. vention. The camtrack 90 is provided with 96,.agradually inclined shoulder 98 and an intermediately disposed v wall100. The counting disk (not shown) and the cam disk 89 are.1otatedstepby step, as vis described fully in the saidapplication, in thedirectionof the arrow, Fig. 8,`as a`unit,. and the cam disk 89 will be regardedin the` present ap,- plication as typifying a counter. When the sharpabrupt shoulder 96 reaches the end 88 of the lever 84, a spring 102.will move the lever 84 to cause vthe end 88 of the lever to engagethewall 100 of the recess 94. The

other end downward,- s viewed in Fig.' 8. causing the pin to be moveddownwardalso. The `col1ar72 will therefore be rockedfr'om the the lever84 will-.thus be moved position of Fig. 3to that of Fig. 4, causing thegate 70 to uncover the recess 48. The pawl 46 will then beenabledto-cause actuy.ation of the feed rolls 26 and 27, as above described;The downward movement of the lever 84 is` of course., timed totake-place at-the end of a cycle of operation' of the counter, sayrafteia rean has been deliveredand counted. It isl not essential thata themarker be operated once to every revolution of the cam disk 89, for camdisks 89 hav-; ing a plurality of recesses-94 may be em-S ployed, thelocation of/the recess 94, in each ease, controlling the operation ofthe 'mai-ker..

It has beenv pointed outabove that the pawl 46 willfleavethe recess 48at a time when 'the latter is in the and beforethe shaft-44 has ngade acomplete revolution. .This nearly complete revolution of the shaft 44 is,effected in about half the ,time required to'fmake one delivery intothe -f lay-boy.A During v this nearly complete revolution. of'the shaft'44, the -end38 of the strip 34 has been rapidly fed from thel rear `'ofthe stack, in' a direction at a substantial angle to the ,hbrizontaidirection of feed of the sheets, shown nearly vertical in Fig. 7,intothe. path of feed of thenext following sheet, which constitutes thefirst sheet 106 of the next ream. If the end'38 ofthe strip were. fedhorizontally forward, or at -an sol angle not sufficiently far from thehorizontal, being constituted of thin paper, it might strike the rear ofthe Astack of sheets, and

not enter betwen adjacent sheets at all, thus falling to the floorlandfailing to mark the separating line between the reams. If fed at anangle so near tothe horizontal, furthermore, the tags, if itissucceededun getting 'them inserted between `the sheets, are frequentlycarried by the sheet 106 so far in between `the sheet 104 and the sheet106 that'it islo'st to view, and its function as a marker becomes lost.It is therefore desirableto feed the end 38 of the strip 34 a'substantial` enough angleV to the direction of feed,'so as to avoidhavingzthe strip enfbetween sheets of the stack. If fed at such angle'into the path of feed of the sheet 106,l

`acter of the strip` 34. All possibility of the -end 38 of the strip 34becoming displaced is thus avoided.v It is furthermoreunnec`.

Agage the rear ofthe stack or to become #lost i a recess 94 havingasharp abrupt shoulder essary to time accurately 'the moment when theend of thelstrip is fed upward, asfwould be theJ case V,if-it, were fedhorizontally, or "nearly so, which *timing 1t is necessary to adjust forsheets of di'erentlength. In' `-order to insure feeding the str1p atsuch. angle, au intermediate portion of the guide:

28 is curved.`as shown, so as to rise-nearly vertically, as illustratedin Fig. 7 at 29.

a distance sufficiently great so as to make sure'fthat it will riseabovefthe top sheets f tlstackand Vinto the path of travel of the -bythe sheet4 106 f upon the' sheet 104,. it is still too earlytosever it.from the rstrip 34,

ist!

-i as the severing process might pull it out-of wall 100 of the' recess94. The' cam disk place It is 'preferable towait until a numso as toprovide a very'effective, shearing berl of .sheets have been fed forwardoverfcut. Thel rollfc'am 118 is mounted upon. a the sheet 106' theircombined weight then shaft 123 having a gear'124among the same serving-to hold the end 38 of. thev strip 34 vtrain of gearing 128 that drivesthe feed in place while it jis severed. vThe number rolls 26 and 27fromthe 'shaft 44. The knife of sheetsthat shall so be fed forward for isthus pperated in timed relation to the this purpose depends upon thelength of the operation of thel feed rolls 26 and 27 by the shaft 44,which first operates through nearly 89 continuing to rotate, as thecounter con-l a complete revolution to cause the feed rolls tinues tocount the additional sheets'V so' fed .to feed the strip 34, and thenremains lis . line position of Fig. 3, as explained above.,

controls the feed roll 26 to insert the end 38 with the stationary knife32,`by a lever 110, .one'end of, which is pivoted at 114 and to `50 fromthe .position of Figs. 3 and`4 to' -of this revolution, the knife30`will actuate 120 to move the knife 30 upward, as seen in forward, theend 88 of the lever- 84 will ultimately leave the wall 100 and vrideupon the inclined shoulder 98 of tlie recess 94. The otlier end of thelever 84 will then be returned upward -to its normal position,

Astationary until the desired nulnber 0f sheets have been fed over thesheet 106, and which finally operates through the remainder of itsrevolution to cause the roll cam 118 to engage thetlever 110,'therebycausing the knife to shown in Fig. 8, carryingfthe pin'80 upsever theend 38' from the strip 34. The ward with it. This will have the effectof knife is returned to normal position before returning the gate 70,-from the position of .the shaft 44 comesto rest. The cam roll 118 Figs.4 and 3 to that of Figs. 3 and 4, unis adjustable to adjust the time ofoperation covering the forward wall 490f the recess ofthe knife 30.. Apartition 134 separates 48, which at this time occupies the dottedthetrain of gearing vfrom the guide 28 to pxevent the paper 'strip 34binding between the gears and clogging the machine.

Upon the retreat of the movable knife 30, the new end 38 of the stripy34 is left underthe stationary knife 32. Owing to the substantiallyif'ertical direction of feeding the position of Fig. 3, ,Upon the recess48 movement ofthe end 38 of the strip, there being thus returned to theposition of Figfuvould be a tendency for the strip to strike 3, the gate70, occupying now the position against the knife 32, and prevent furthershown in Figs. 3 and 4a, will agaimcause the advance of the end of thestrip, at the next pawl 46 to leave the recess 48, and the pawl feedmovement of the feed rolls 26 and 27. 46 will again continue to rotateidly, as To prevent this, happening, a lever 37 is before. Thiscompletes the revolution of adapted to pivot, Lby its own weight, aboutthe collar 50 and, therefore, of the shaft44 a pivotal point 39, soas toenter between to which it is secured. Upon the completion the two knives30 and 32, as is illustrated in Fig. 7 thereby engaging the end 38 ofthe strip and pushing it forward, beyond and between the knives. Thenext forward feed movement of 'the feed rolls 26 and 27 will thereforeresult in advancing'the end 38 of the strip in a nearly'vertical directibn, as before described, and as illustrated more particularly in Fig.7,'"to one side of the cutter 32, The lever 37 is forced out of the wayof the movable knife 30, ateach upward movement of the same, in any deDuring the next cycle of rotation of` the pawl 46 about the shaft 44,therefore, it will engage the forward wall 49 ofthe recess 48, and thusactuate the recess-carrying disk to sever the end 38 from the strip 34,the severed end constituting one of the tags 24. The lever 84 is thusadapted to occupy two positions successively, in one .of which it of thestrip 34 between adjacent sheets of the stack, and in the other of whichit causes the knife 30 to sever'the end 38 of the strip, these twopositions being controlled by the cam disk 89. Thel mechanism foroperating.- the knife 30 will now be described.

The knife 30 is adapted to be reciprocated in a vertical plane in guides108, to cooperate the inner face of the knife 30 that is adapted toengage' thev lever .37 when the knife is moved upward, and that-isadapted to becomel disengaged from the lever 37 on the the other end ofwhich the knife is connected downward movement of the knife; The use at112. An intermediate portion 116 of the .of the said cam 141 is, inpractice, found to lever `110 is adapted to be engaged by a beunnecessary, as the knife 30 may force the rotary cam '118. llhen therecess 48 is lever 37 out of the way by direct engagemoved by the pawl46 from the position of ment 'with itsprojecting upper portion. *IfFigs, 3a and 4 to the. position of Fig. 3, the the lever 37 isconstitutedof soft metal like lever 110 isactuated by the cam 118, inoplead, it will not dull or otherwise injure the position to the forceexerted vby a spring knife. The return gravity movement of the lever islimited by an integral projection 53 Figs. 7 and 9, causing the end 38to become that is adapted to engage the rear of the severed from thestrip 34. It will be noted, knife 32.

from Figs. l6 and 9, that the knives 30 and According to the presentinvention, then,

sired manner, as by means of y'a cam 141 upon y the end 38 ,of the stripis automatically advanced into position in a direction nearly firstsheet 106 of each new ream and laid dat thereby Ibetween adjacent sheets104 and 106 of ad]acent reams, and it is then severed from the strip34,the tag 24 being thusleft in placer to mark the boundary between the tworeams. It has been explained that the severing mechanisms for the strip34 are cgntrolledA by the end A88 of the lever- 84, through thel recess94 in the cam disk. 89 rthat is secured-,to rotate 'with a counting disk'(not shown). The operation of the counter will not be described hereinbecause unnecessary to an understanding of the present inf vention, andbecause any counteroperating in .any well known manner, may equally"well be employed without departing from the spirit and scope ofthepresent invention. It will be clear from the above description thatany desired number of feed rollsl 26 and 27 and associated mechanismsmay all becontrolled by the same shaft 44. Three lay-boys 4 are^illustrated -in ther above- Y of the three markers are controlled bythe same shaft 44, a single counter sullibes for all three lay-boys. Asmanylay-boys as are attached to the machine may each be pro-v Themarkers, as explained above, are controlled by the counter.

500 sheets or of 480 sheets. Using the duplex type ofpaper-cutting-and-feeding machine shown diagrammatically in Fig. -1 itis possible to employ r'two counters, one controlled by the -cutter 16,as above described, and the other controlled by the cutter 14.

The two counters maybe mounted at opposite sides of the machine. The'operationof the counter that is controlled by the cutter 16 has alreadybeen described. The other counter may Lbe driven from the cutter14.- Ashas been` explained above, the lever 84 controls, through ,the pawl46,the operation of-the shaft 44, this shaft, in turn, controlling the feedwheels 26 and 2 7. 'A' similar lever (ot shown, but illustrated in theabove-referred-to application), operated b the said other counter, maycontrol, throng 1 a similar pawl, the operation of a shaft 122. T0operate themarker from the shaft 122, thekey`220, Fig. 7, is removed, soas to render the gear 126 loose upon the shaft 44, and a gear 224, thatis loose when :the gear 126 is keyed Ivto the shaft-44, is ke ed at 222to :the shaft 122, instead.: Rotatlonv of the shaft 122,- through .anidler gear 125, -will 'thus drive the feed rolls 26'and 27 throughOrdinarily, it is .desired to count and mark reams either of the sametrainl of gearing 1.28, the gear 126 now rotating idly onlthe shaft 44.The idler ear 125 enablesthe gears 124 and V126 to rive the feedrolls-26 and 27 in the same direction. The feed 'rolls 26 and 27 arethus 10 operated to yfeed the-strip 34 in th/e same manner as beforedescribed, except that they -are new operated from'the shaft 122 insteadof fromf the shaft 44; andthe knife-control- I -ling-Cain wheel 118still operates to control 75 1 successive operations of the feeding andIot limited to the exact embodiment that is herein illustrated anddescribed,` and is su'bject to modification and change by persons Allsuch modifications skilled in the art. and changes are considered to bewithin the spirit of the invention, and the lscope of the invention isdened/by the appendedclaims.

What Vvis claimed is: e.

1. The method of feeding sheet material that comprises feeding a sheet,and interposing a'strip in the direction of'feed of the sheet ata'substantial angle to vthe direction of feed, whereby the head ofstrike the strip and deflect it.

2. The method of feeding and stacking sheet materialY and marking thestacke sheets that comprises feeding a pluralityof sheets, landinterposing a tag in the path of 95 feed ofv one of the sheets at asubstantial angle to the direction of feed, whereby the head ofthe saidone sheet will strike thetagand deflect it towards a prior-fed Sheet. f

'3. The method of feeding and stacking 100 sheet material and markingfthe' stacked s'heets'that comprises feeding apluralityof sheets in asubstantially horizontal direction 1nto a lay-boy, and feeding a tag ina substantially vertical direction into the ath of lo?,

feed of one of the sheets whereby the `ead of the said one sheet willstrike the tag and lay it against a prior-fed' sheet.

4. The method of feeding and searing sheet material and marking thestacked sheets that comprises feeding a plurality of sheets in asubstantiallyf horizontal direction uinto a lay-boy, and intel-posing` atag inthe path of feed of one of the sheets from a position just to therear of and just below the upper sheets of the, stack-at a substantialangle to the direction of feed so as to avold striking the stack,whereby the head of the said onesheet will strike the tag and lay itagainst a'prior-fed sheet.

5. The method of feeding and staking sheet material andf marking .thestacked sheets that comprises feedinga plurality of sheets into alay-boy, feedin the end of a flexible strip into the path o feed of oneof the sheets at a substantial angle to the direc- .tion -of feed oflthe sheet, whereby the head of the sheet will--strike th'e endv of thestrip and lay it against a prior-fed sheet, and severing the end vof thestrlp.

Lthe sheet will 90 lao 6. The method of feeding and stacking sheetmaterial and marking the stacked sheets that comprises feeding aplurality of sheets in a substantially horizontal direction into-alay-boy, feeding'the end ofa iiexible strip into the path of feed of oneof the sheets from a position just to the rear and just below the uppersheets of the stack in a substantially vertical direction so .as toavoid striking the stack, whereby the head of the saidgone sheet will'strike the end of thestrip and lay itl against/ a prior-fed sheet,continuing to feed sheets into the lay-boy, and severing the end of thestrip upon a predetermined i.' number of additional' sheets havinr beenfed into the lay-boy.

7. machine of the class described hav-.

ing, in combination, means for feeding a` sheet, and means forinterposing a strip in the direction offeedof the sheet atfa substantialangle tothe direction. of feed, whereby the head of the sheet willstrike the strip and deieotit.

8. A machine of the class describedhaving, in combination, means forfeeding a plurality of sheets, and means for interposinga tag in thepath of feed of one of the sheets at a substantial angle to the direc--tion of feed, whereby the head of the' said one sheet will strike thetagand deiect it towards a prior-fed sheet.

9. A machine of the classdescribed having. in combination, a lay-boy,means. for feeding sheets into the lay-boy, and means for feeding a taginto the path of 'feed of one of the sheets at a substantial angle to'the direction of feed of the sheets, 4wherey by the tag is adapted to,be struckl by the said one sheetas it is fed into th-lay-boy and laid bythe said one sheetvupon a priorfed sheet. ff

10. A machine of the class described'haying, in combination, a lay-boy`"means for feedingsheets in a substantially horizontal direction intothe lay-boy, and means -for f 12, A machine of the class describedhaving, in combination, a lay-boy, means for `feeding sheets in asubstantially horizontal direction into the lay-boy, and means forinterposing a tag in the path of feed of one of the sheets from aposition just to the rear of and just below the upper sheets of thestack at a substantial angle to the direction of feed so as to avoidstriking the stack, whereby the head of the said one sheet will' strikethe tag and la)1 it against a prior-fed sheet.

13. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a lay-boy,means for feeding a plurality of sheets in a substantially horizontaldirection into the f lay-boy, means for feedingthe end of a flexiblestrip into the path of feed of one of the sheets from a position just tothe rear and just below the upper( sheets of the stack in asubstantially vertical direction so as to avoid striking the stack,whereby the head of the said one sheet willlstrike the end of the stripand lay yit against a prior-fed sheet, and 'means for severing the endof the strip 11p- `on the feeding of an additional predetermined numberof sheets into the lay-boy.

14. A. machine of the classj described having, in combination, means forfeeding a plurality of sheets,`m'eans for interposing the end of a stripin the path of feed of one of the sheets at a substantial angle to thedirection of feed, .whereb the head of the said one" sheet will strike te tag and deflect it towards a prior-fed sheet, and means timed tooperate with the feeding means for severing the end of the strip. tu-Intestimony whereof, I havehereunto subscribed my name thisfth day ofSeptenber, 1923.

